Hi everyone, so we recently demoed the upstairs bathroom. House built in 2000, Dutchess County NY. Bath had a fiberglass bathtub/shower which we removed. The photo attached is a view of the floor joists directly below where that bathtub shower assembly was. I now plan on installing a cast-iron clawfoot bathtub in its place: 57" L x 30" W 317lbs empty 809lbs filled. My concern is the way the floor joists have been notched for the current drain assembly has reduced the amount of load the Floor can handle I would imagine? The floor sheathing in the bathroom consists of 2 layers plywood 3/4” capped with 1/2” pressure treated ran 90 degrees over the 3/4”. Do I need to sister lumber to the existing floor joists, change/add anything or is it fine the way it is? I Thank you in Advance!
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Upstairs floor load question
- Thread starter Vivid88
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There is a pretty large hole from plumbing near the end of the joist. Might not be able to support the weight of the tub in shear depending how close that is to the bearing wall. The middle joist, in essence, isn't doing much of anything other than transfering the load out to the two outer joists.
You should get a local structural engineer out to take a look at that and provide the required fixes. Assuming there's a permit required to do this work, you'll end up needing them anyway. But yes, the large notches will definitely affect the ability of the joists to support the weights. Whether it's ok or not at this time, we can't make that determination.
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I appreciate this information. An exterior load bearing wall is about 60” from the drain pipe from the old tub. Please see photo attached, the red arrow drawn is pointing to the exterior wall of the house. About hiring a structural engineer to consult with, do you guys happen to have an estimate of how much this may cost? Would it be in the hundreds of dollars? Or thousands?
Unfortunately costs are location dependent. I'd suggest calling around to a few and get an idea.
Locally where I am, depending on the results of the investigation and analysis of the condition, it could range from $850 (assuming everything checks out with no drawings necessary) to $3,000 (drawings and reinforcing required).
Locally where I am, depending on the results of the investigation and analysis of the condition, it could range from $850 (assuming everything checks out with no drawings necessary) to $3,000 (drawings and reinforcing required).
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- #6
RontheRedneck
Specifier/Regulator
I never give an opinion on something like this unless I see it myself.
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